Category: health

Depending on how busy your lifestyle is becoming, you DO indeed have options.

Even the gets caught up in life every one in a while, and I become the busy person that I never cared to be.

People get sick, bills stack up for a lil while till you can pay them down or off. Work hours increase with responsibility sometimes being more laid on you.

Last year I started doing my own little experiment of getting a head start on my growing season by starting those little buggers inside the house! Making the good home purchase that I did (no gloat but gloat) I ended up with exactly what I wanted- plenty of room!

Rooms to be exact and a basement to match. Within that basement came the perfect space and outlets needed to do something I had thought about for years. Growing plants indoors.

For me, this didn’t work out exactly the way I wanted. If I could have controlled the humidity a bit more (increased constantly) then I might have had a chance to do more with it. However, in the end, it became an awesome starter room for all my plants.

Here’s the problem… If I was starving, a few seeds aint gonna put dinner on the table. And no big offense to Wal-Mart, but while I am there it becomes increasingly harder to check out what companies are carrying what. Local groceries fall under the same heading as a problem for me.

Not to be captain activist or anything, but I like to know where my products come from. If I am in a bigger store, I have to jump on my phone, google the brand, see what they are about and if that’s something I would enjoy.

I’m picky and hypocritical about my foods at times, but I am who I am. I like choices and I like information. I like options!

Most importantly, I like the time to be able to investigate the company I purchase from. I have two temporary solutions to my problems at this time. I have a local grocer and 3 stands that I pass (depending on season) that receive verifiable and awesome tasting foods: meats, veggies, and fruits.

Other than going to every single one of their farms, I am able to get some fine report on these individuals.

When it comes to a bigger choice, and something that can actually be brought to you in the situations I mentioned above about being busy… There are Wal-Marts that allow you the choice to look online and build your cart (as well as check the brands), and one that I’ve been interested in lately, AmazonFresh.

After going through the reviews, I’m not dissatisfied with the service. But before I push anything your way, let’s consider what will make it worth it to YOU (the awesome reader).

Do you already use Amazon services?

2. Do you order enough to make it worth your while for the free delivery?

3. Not every brand you want will be there, is that okay?

4. Food will be showing up at your doorstep, will it be safe?

5. Are you ready to get rid of the garbage that comes with every order (cardboard, bags, etc)?

For me, #1 is fine. Prime is right up my alley. #2 I feed me, my wife, and family members and cook in large amounts to store at a time. Plus, it isn’t just food they deliver. #3 I can settle, for the most part. #4 Camera system, dogs, guns, and living in the country, should be fine. #5 I like near 3 county dumps/landfills on my way to and from work, so this isn’t a problem.

Well, sounds like I have myself sold at least. There are conveniences and inconveniences with every product you buy in life. It is best to weigh your options with any purchase.

If you are picky, BE PICKY! If you aren’t, then you have just that many more options. Take advantage of what benefits you and your limited time.

Vitamin packed and so easy to grow, that if you fail at this… nope, na! You can’t, just trust me.

Scroll down to the bottom to watch a quick video on how to get these going.

Lentil sprouts are nutritious and worth while to grow for your animals. As I never eat the things, I will not just randomly recommend them for humans, but I hear good things other than the nutrition side.

You see, like a basic straight-up pinto bean, we can’t just throw one in our mouth, chew without expecting some problems, and then reap a ton of nutritional benefits. We have to cook or sprout these veggies to even enjoy them.

Just like drinking egg yolks provides you with so much less protein than cooked eggs: same goes for lentils.

Your body spends so much time and calories working on digesting this food, that in the end, you will end up passing the foods through your digestive track and they’ll be mostly undigested.

Besides the jars, you’ll need some kind of mesh-like material. I have used old potato sacks, holes made in plastic lids, and lately marble nets? Yep, I keep it cheap.

Warning: Do Not Over Fill These Jars!

Start the first time with three table spoons full of lentils.

1: Put lentils in jar

2: Fill with water, about half of jar.

3: Let them sit for about 24 hours

4: Cover with mesh material

5: Use the ring and lock down the mesh material (store lid wherever you want)

6: Pour out old water

7: Rinse once more and place on a strainer. No sun required

8: Wait 12 hours and then rinse, repeat step 7

Do this for about 4-5 days. Every single day, you’ll see the tails get longer and longer. I don’t recommend going much further than that, because the tails start wrapping around each other and by this time, you’ve gotten the nutrients unlocked and multiplied for your needs.

Now, it is up to you. Feed these directly to your chickens or store them. Either way, you now have an awesome way to sprout lentils. After that? Start ding multiples. That way you’ll end up with plenty of jars in different stages of growth to feed to your animals and will never run out of supply.

This isn’t a main source of food, but it is a much more natural way to feed the chickens between whatever you buy them, scraps, and grazing.

Alright so I haven’t been able to post for a little while because I’ve been busy with super fun work and real life. However, the best part about it is in between I am growing a ton of plants indoors getting them ready for outside and we have baby chickens!

There’s a link to let you take a good look at what we have been so busy with. Besides the grow room and the chickens we are busy building the chicken pen and Coop.

It takes a lot to be somewhat self-sufficient but the rewards are awesome. The calories lost are great. And the positive mood that you get from working on something that will help your entire family well that has an unknown price tag.

Not to gloat, but I have done the best with what little time I have in between work.

If you feel like winter is the destroyer of all hope for gardening and doing something positive with your time, then I am here to tell you that there are a few things that you can do to stop that feeling

Forgive the voice to text but I needed to get this out there. I have 27 plants growing in downstairs office room. It took two extra tables that cost 30 bucks and to grow lights that are just CFLs which cost $15 a piece plus shipping.

a lot of these plants are now six inches tall, two of them are trying to flower, one of the plants is three foot tall and is a Survivor from last year’s pepper crops.

I will be doing a lot more of exploring the indoor growing with some of them staying here around inside the room and not being transferred out into the garden. Of course for longer-term growth some plants need to be indeterminate and this also gives you an opportunity to stagger your plant growth for the determinant such as most large tomatoes.

is a picture from 3 weeks ago that can give a little bit of explanation on how easy it is to grow starting out. To be continued. YouTube video coming out soon 30 videos one full month on grow

Increasing weight loss by a small percentage adds up! You don’t have to be a recluse to do it either.

Tip of the day: move that unused treadmill to the room where you are in the most!

If this is the bathroom, reconsider the second most used room….

If you require privacy, then you need to dedicate one area for YOU, however…

Let’s get back to the first option!

Treadmills: we usually transform these things into clothes racks in the end. STOP THAT. Build yourself a simple shelf if you need to – buy a rolling closet – but DO NOT use the treadmill as a replacement for your unorganized items!

Keep in mind, there a billion and one ways to get a light workout. You don’t have to associate losing weight automatically with this machine. But let’s stay focused on this one, single workout tool first before we get into the other billion…

The reason I say move it to the room you are in the most (let’s just call this the living room), is because in your main room, you reside the most and fail the most.

Fail the most?

Yes! This is the room that you sit down and watch T.V. This is the room where you get on your phone. This is the room where you kick back and say, “we’ll do it later.” When it is relax time, then it is relax time! Although, if this room keeps holding you back, we call that failing. Call it for what it is! Don’t sugarcoat it: sugar is how we got here!

But neither does your heavy breathing going to the mailbox. That’s not a putdown whatsoever, and I would never fault anybody for trying or simply having weight.

This is YOUR life and YOU are very important. You have so many potential to help others and do great things for you and your family. If you don’t like the way your weight looks, if you don’t like how it feels, if you are suffering from the side effects of weight on your joints and blood related levels: this is one step in working on just that.

I want this workout tool to be unsightly! I want you to be able to get rid of it one day. One day, you’ll be walking down the street and feel comfortable in your clothes and in your own God-given skin!

One day, you’ll be selling that workout tool online or giving it to someone else who is facing your same challenges.

One day, you’ll be able to keep up with your kids and all that beautiful, hidden potential will shine like a candelabra amongst tea lights!

Bless you on your journey towards a healthier you. We here at Cody Homesteader are here for you and selling you absolutely nothing. There is no powdered supplement that replaces willpower. If you have any questions, please ask! Use an anonymous name if you want – We don’t care about names, shapes, or colors – we care about YOU.

We do ask that you visit our page as often as possible, and if you can check out our YouTube page, (which includes podcasts turned into video format) that would really help!

Whilst doing battle in the blind war of Weight Loss, sometimes we become disoriented in what direction to attack first or next.

Carbs or fats?

Workout or diet?

How many gallons of water??

Water weight or pant size?

Stop….

Just hold up a minute. Carbs or fats?

A lot of people run into the battlefield armed with only this mindset…

Eat nothing, run, eat like a rabbit, no sleep because I gotta work out more, jog, pushups, skip breakfast…

That’s T-total crap.

I’m going to give a quick stroke over the keys to help explain, but this could be a lifesaving tip and comparison that will save you so much time and worry.

Compare Fats to gasoline – Compare Carbs to coal.

Fats are essential and should never be totally thrown out. They are an awesome source of quick energy – much like gasoline. Quick-burning, strong, very needed, important, and will get you through your morning routine.

Carbs are just as essential. Plenty of studies have shown people falling into real depression without carbs. No, I don’t mean that somebody got upset without their Panera bread fix. I’m saying, without the proper amounts of certain basic nutrients in your body, you will become sick without them.

Carbs are like coal; in so much as they don’t spark right up like the fumes from a puddle of gasoline, but require plenty of heat to grant ignition. Coals burn longer and stronger than gasoline.

Carbs will provide the best source of energy for longevity. You just have to be able to justify them…

That’s the best way to explain it. Justify your food. Does your work routine require a donut to complete this task?

Are you a lumberjack? Cuz ya kinda just ate seven pancakes, a stick of butter, and a cup of syrup.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t eat a donut just because you sit in an office using your brain more than your feet. It just means that you may have to hold off later on your triple-cheese-bacon-mayo-ketchup-quad bun burger…of doom… plus five… and fries.

You may want to settle for a grilled chicken salad with regular dressing and leave off the crackers if you ate two donuts (I’m not into the whole 0fat thing, I donno what they are replacing the fat with and if you’re not satisfied with the taste, then you’ll drop the healthy eating).

Here’s a tip: Go to the gym with a friend just ONE time. I’m not sending you there to perhaps become a member – I just want you to use their treadmill. Walk for ten minutes at 2.5 mph on a regular incline/grade.

Now, document the calories it claims you burned off.

Now, Google that donut you ate earlier and get a general idea of how many calories were involved in that fried goodness.

Wow, right?! You barely nicked that donut! What, did you burn of 23 calories?

Hey, here’s the thing:

I’m proud of you for getting on the treadmill

I’m proud of you for actually documenting your calories

I’m proud of you for reading this far without pictures…(seriously, I would’ve left by now lol)

Hardcore diets equal hardcore failures 90% of the time. Let’s not start that this year. I’m going to be posting to help you 100% of the way.

I’m selling you NOTHING. There’s no powder supplement that can replace willpower. That’s all on you. And here at Cody Homesteader – if you can listen to the podcasts, if you can read the blog posts, I will do my best to help you without costing you a cent.

No matter while side of the aisle you’re on – you race – your religion – your coffee type…